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Scabby Skin

K

kayles

Junior Guinea Pig
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the 4 week old piggie I picked up last week is covered in scans around the neck and ears.. the ears are scabby and dry and seems to be an open wound which has come up since yesterday, originally thought it was just dry skin...

Any ideas? Very worried and our vets doesn’t appear to be open on a Sunday!
 
It could be a fungal infection which appears most often on the face. It's obviously very itchy so they can scratch at it and make it worse. I would get to the vets tomorrow as long as they are eating and otherwise behaving normally
 
Lady Kelly said:
It could be a fungal infection which appears most often on the face. It's obviously very itchy so they can scratch at it and make it worse. I would get to the vets tomorrow as long as they are eating and otherwise behaving normally
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Between the theee is them they have scabs over their rumps, necks, around the ears.
 
kayles said:
the 4 week old piggie I picked up last week is covered in scans around the neck and ears.. the ears are scabby and dry and seems to be an open wound which has come up since yesterday, originally thought it was just dry skin...

Any ideas? Very worried and our vets doesn’t appear to be open on a Sunday!
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Can you google for out-of-hours vets in your place?

It sounds like ringworm (but could also be mange mites), which is sadly not at all uncommon in shop or breeder piggies. If your is a pet shop buy, then you can reclaim any vet cost from the shop as exposure and infection must have happened at the shop; present yourvet bill together with the sales receipt. It is more difficult with a breeder, but even them you can report to your local council.

Please do not treat on spec; it makes a vet diagnosis impossible. Fungal (ringworm) requires different treatment to mange mites, and neither should be treated with cheap low dosed broad spectrum shop products.
See a vet on Monday if you can't get a weekend appointment.

Ringworm is highly infectious for all mammals, so please invest in a good antifungal disinfectant like F10 (widely available online) and follow the tips in our hygiene guide.
Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures

Please consider getting a companion from a better place once your baby is fully healed; guinea pigs are group animals and not wired to be on their own. The stress of being lost and cut off from their companions adds massively to lowered immune system at a time when it is still under construction anyway. Make sure that you double check the check the gender of both piggies before introducing. If you have access to one of our recommended rescues, please use them. They all have a mandatory quarantine/medical care and will only rehome healthy and properly sexed as well as guaranteed not pregnant piggies. They will also try their best to carefully character match any piggies.
Companionship

Lots more tips on settling and making friends, understanding behaviour and bonding, care, medicating and learning what is normal and what not as well as links to recommended rescues and vets in several countries can be found via our new owner guide collection: New Owners' Problem Solver And Information Collection
 
Possible ringworm and/or mites. Considering I’ve only had the baby pig for a week I’m wondering if he had them before he came to me.. felt like a terrible owner in the vets yesterday when I saw how bad his skin was. Let’s hope after the tests and treatments and over £100 later he is going to get better and be a happy, healthy guinea!
 
kayles said:
Possible ringworm and/or mites. Considering I’ve only had the baby pig for a week I’m wondering if he had them before he came to me.. felt like a terrible owner in the vets yesterday when I saw how bad his skin was. Let’s hope after the tests and treatments and over £100 later he is going to get better and be a happy, healthy guinea!
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It takes 10-14 days between infection and outbreak, so exposure and infection must have happened where you have got your piggy from; not your fault at all. If it is a pet shop, you can reclaim the vet cost from them! Too many places just don't care about the pets they sell.

Ringworm is the result of overcrowding at the mass breeders that supply a chain, with the young pups then ripped from their group, stuck together in a pen and finally sold as singles (guinea pigs are group animals) before their immune system has fully developed. You can do your bit by reclaiming the extra cost this bad practice is causing; it is the most effective way of forcing a pet shop to clean up by hurting their profit margin. Cute baby pets are sold cheaply because they are the lure to land repeat customers for their supplies, but their welfare is not important. :(

Please follow our hygiene and care tips; they have all been learned the hard way, so they really WORK! Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
 
my boys are going to be treated for mites, I just need to wait for the treatment to arrive as they didn’t give me enough. Any tips on how best to make this a pleasant experience on them.
And any tips and advice on how and what to clean and when to clean and scrub the hutch? Silly questions probably but want to make my boys better!
 
Wiebke said:
It takes 10-14 days between infection and outbreak, so exposure and infection must have happened where you got your piggy from. If it is a pet shop, you can reclaim the vet cost from them!
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I got him the day before New Year’s Eve and he was all scabby then, the breeder told me it was nothing to worry about..
had some advice from the lovely lady at Gorgeous Guineas about what to do if his skin is still scabby after treatment has finished!
Very unhappy and disappointed, was contemplating rehoming all of my boys as I was so put off by the whole experience of the last few weeks
 
@kayles please can you tell us who gave you the treatment and why they did not give you enough? Only a qualified vet should make the diagnosis and then provide the treatment. The vet will also give you advice on administering it. Please do not treat on spec.
 
I have just seen your other thread. Please DO NOT treat on spec @kayles. Please get your piggy seen by a vet to diagnose and prescribe the right treatment. Do not simply buy OTC medication or purchase off the internet.
 
@kayles I have merged your threads so as to avoid confusion. Please stick to one thread in Health and Illness as it makes it easier for us all to follow. Many thanks
 
VickiA said:
@kayles I have merged your threads so as to avoid confusion. Please stick to one thread in Health and Illness as it makes it easier for us all to follow. Many thanks
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It was the vet that administered treatment but I didn’t have the weight of my other Guineas pigs yesterday, turns out one of my boys was considerably bigger than I thought and weighs a lot more, so when I rang up the vets with weights today to find out the dosage, the vet realised she hasn’t prescribed enough for all 3 guinea pigs!
 
Ah, now I understand. Are they ordering in more for you to collect?
 
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